My Facebook feed has been full of pictures of Lutsen Mountain lately – I guess I had looked at a lot of fall foliage pictures. So of course I had to plan a trip.
We decided to go for my birthday weekend, which worked out well with the timing of the leaves changing. But I really think this whole road trip could be great at almost any time of the year because there’s lots of other stuff to do around there too.
Because I planned this the week of our trip, everything around there was booked up, or was about three times more than I would want to spend per night. I even looked at staying in Duluth, but most things I found were high 200s and 300 a night. USD.
I widened my search and found a very cheap motel in Virginia Minnesota, the Lakeshore Motel. Not the kind of place I would normally book, but the reviews were really good so we figured we would give it a try. They were very booked up, which I also took to be a good sign. They were also super nice on the phone when I called with some questions.
The drive to Virginia takes 5 and 1/2 hours from Winnipeg. No wait at the border, lots of places to stop along the way for gas or food.
We were very pleasantly surprised when we got there. We were not planning on hanging out in the room or entertaining in there or anything, we just basically needed somewhere to sleep. If that’s what you’re looking for, this is the perfect hotel. It was clean, and the location was great. They are doing a lot of work to it, it’s sort of outdated. Our room had a fridge that worked really well, we bought a lot of groceries and kept them in there. Also had a microwave. The TV was nice and we had a lot of channels. Every room also has its own window air conditioner.
It’s nothing fancy, but I am pretty paranoid at hotels and I felt fine with everything there. It seemed to be full of people who were there to fish and explore the area, everyone had fishing equipment and ATVs and things like that in the parking lot. I also was surprised at how quiet it was.
Their rates were good – for our two nights, with all the taxes, fees, etc. it ended up being $280 Canadian total.
The town was pretty cute also. Lots to see and do, there was a farmer’s market while I was there, there’s water everywhere around there. Lots of sightseeing.
We had lunch at the sugar shack, it was really good. I had the wild rice soup, and my husband had a spicy pineapple pizza. Both were really good.
And then we had dinner and then the next breakfast at Kunnaris – It’s a market on one side and then a restaurant/cafe on the other. Really great food there too, I have the grown up grilled cheese and it was probably one of the best ones I’ve ever had.
There’s also an old timey candy store in Town, Canelakes. The lighting was a bit weird in there and my phone didn’t like it so the pictures weren’t great, but they make a bunch of candy right in the store. It’s really good, definitely worth stopping in.
So from the hotel, you’re about 2 hours from Lutsen Mountain, and 1 hour to Duluth. It’s a very convenient location.
The drive to Lutsen Mountain was amazing, super picturesque and lots to look at. We left early in the morning to get there when it opens. We were some of the first people on the gondolas so everyone had their own gondola. I’m not sure if they squeeze you in if it’s busy with other groups or not.
If you don’t want to spend a lot of money when you’re there, you could just check out the mountain and hang out. You can of course just hike around too. We decided to do the gondola, and found it really worth it. It was a little bit foggy when we were there because it was first thing in the morning, but it was clearing up pretty quickly. If you want to see really good pictures, definitely Google them. There’s some amazing ones out there. Here’s just a few I took that are so so, but we were more focused on having fun and I just had my phone with me.
It’s definitely a lot nicer in person. We also had fun taking pictures, putting our phone in the leaves and then standing over it, doing the face in the center of the leaf etc. It was super beautiful up there, really nice crisp air. If you love hiking that would be amazing. Lots of families and dogs.
If you are a fan of Fall Foliage definitely check it out at some point. I can’t recommend it enough.
After that we drove to Duluth, and the road there again was so scenic. We stopped a few times to take pictures and check out scenic points.
I had never been to Duluth, I didn’t really know what to expect, and it’s very pretty. I would definitely plan to spend more time around there next time.
Lots of shopping there too – but definitely a lot of touristy stuff to check out.
I really enjoyed the entire trip, all the driving had great scenery to look at. The roads were great, the gas stations are always clean with lots of food options.
Just for the base trip, it really wasn’t that bad. Like I mentioned above, the hotel was $280 Canadian for two nights. We left with a full tank, but we spent around $100 Canadian on gas while we were there which included filling up right before the border home.
The hotel has bigger rooms too that fit more people, so if you’re a larger family that’s a good possibility. You can also buy food right at the Walmart or the target in town and microwave it in your room. We had our mini cooler with us and brought snacks for the day when we left in the morning.
It’s definitely a great little trip for all ages. The mountain does have quite a bit to do, including an alpine slide. There’s lots of activities and places to check out nearby. Found the hotel was the perfect spot to go back and forth from.
Depending how much driving you like to do in a day, you could do a two night trip, or 3 and it’s a great amount of time, if you have more time you will definitely not run out of things to do.
